Return to Neverland
by rosesandpearls94
Summary: Wendy has grown up and accepted a world without Neverland, building a new and mundane life. She cannot forget the magic that she experienced as a child however, and there is someone there to make sure that she remembers the person she really is.
1. Chapter 1

Wendy let out a long and exasperated sigh, her warm breath hit the freezing contrast of the glass window in front of her. Her fingers twitched with the sudden urge to reach out and draw in the fresh canvas she had just created. She couldn't of course, that was something that a child would do, and you have to be a grown up now Wendy Darling. She urged to be sat in the third class part of the train, everyone in first class were all so serious and she wondered with a sudden curiosity what their journey was for, what could bring them this far up North?

She didn't have time to ponder as the train stopped with a jarring halt and she gathered her bags and departed onto the platform with a deep sense of dread. Wendy was met on the platform by a rather plump middle-aged woman who had flushed cheeks and a friendly smile, "Wendy I assume?" the woman asked enthusiastically.

"Indeed, how did you know?" Wendy spoke, her accent suddenly sounding too strong in her head compared to this woman's thick Northern accent.

"You looked ever so lost as you stepped off the train just now! Honestly what a relief you arrived safely, I've been here for a good few hours, must have been very long for you Miss! I've never been on a train myself!" she exclaimed.

Wendy was about to reply and tell this lady that travelling by train is actually rather tedious but the look on this woman's face as she studied the train with an almost childlike excitement and curiosity, Wendy kept quiet and simply nodded.

"Right dear, lets get these bags onto the carriage and we'll be on our way". Wendy was lead to a lovely carriage pulled by a large black stallion.

The journey that Wendy had been dreading as she had been travelling a long time already actually turned out to be rather pleasant. She enjoyed the company of the woman she was travelling with, her name was Mrs. Nelson and she was married to the man who worked in the stables and she had two sons who both lived at the manor. She informed Wendy of all the staff working there, Wendy stopped listening when she began talking about the wonderful Master, Mr Thomas this and Mr Thomas that. Instead she looked onto the impressive scenery, so different to that of what she lived in within the heart of London. Wendy pondered what life in the country was really like, how far was their nearest neighbour, how far to the nearest town? What was it like to not have to keep up with the latest London fashions? She was soon to find out.

Mrs. Nelson mistook Wendy's silence for boredom, "we're almost their dear I promise" she said encouragingly and Wendy gave a smile and a nod in return, 'how much quicker they would be if they were flying!' Wendy thought and then a smile lit her face as she thought of the incredible exhilaration of the wind gripping your hair at hundreds of feet above the ground! The wonderful fear! The trust in just the grip of a hand and a cheeky smile…The carriage stopped. They had arrived. Wendy had to be brave now, as she was about to embark on the next dismal chapter of her life.


	2. Chapter 2

Wendy awoke suddenly with the sensation of frost biting at the tip of her nose; she sighed at the prospect of the frosty day ahead and saw the delicate cloud of smoke appear from her mouth, further solidifying her distaste for the bitter cold day. She really wanted to throw the heavy quilt back over her head and blissfully slip back into the blue dream-world in which she could escape all of her troubles, but sadly that could not be the case, it was time to get up.

Begrudgingly she arose and began to dress. She thought about her life and considered how she had come to be so negative. It wasn't always the case, even after Neverland, as a child and a teenager she was ecstatic, she couldn't be tamed, she would run around and be daft with her brothers, especially in the snow, snowy days were the closest thing to magic that Wendy had, her surroundings looked different temporarily and everyone seemed much happier. Mother wasn't keen on Wendy's behaviour, but she absolutely put a stop to her 'nonesense' when the snow came one year and all of the children were building snowmen and playing snow-ball fights and the neighbours were shocked to see Michael, John and Wendy talking with the 'poor' children. Wendy remembered how much mother had cried to her that night, begging Wendy's behaviour to stop as she was beginning to taint the Darling name. After that night Wendy transformed from the laughing, smiling, silly girl to a woman. Michael and John were sent off to school for a good education. Wendy couldn't explain how much their moving away devastated her! She began to wear a corset at 16, to further accentuate her now womanly figure (and how uncomfortable it was, no running or playing to be sure) she would no longer feel the wind whipping through her long thick locks as she galloped through the fields as her hair was pinned up fashionable tight.

She learned to play instruments, her favourite was the piano and she learned to sing well. She read and studied geography, and sewing and countless other activities that seemed useless to her. She set up a small library in the old nursery because she could sit by her favourite window and lose herself in other worlds, and occasionally she would look up to the second star on the left and wonder what that wonderful and cheeky peter was doing now, which adventure he would be on. Michael and John thought about Neverland too, but they were males, they would get a good education and a decent job, find a house and a wife of their own. Wendy missed it so much because from now on as a woman she would always be trapped, her father's property, her husband's property, a slave to the gossip of society if she didn't marry and became an old maid. Wendy had experienced freedom in it's truest form, which as a child is a wonderful concept because you can run away from the holds of your parents but is equally a wonderful thought as an adult, escaping responsibilities.

Wendy had grown tired, tired of living in London, tired of her pointless studies, tired of living the same routine each and everyday. So one night last month, her and mother had been in the parlour sewing when mother asked "Wendy, what would you look for in a husband?" curiously, Wendy replied

"Passion" she had meant passion in a way that you would kill or die for that other person, passion in a way that you would get butterflies in your stomach at every look, every tough and every smile they gave you. Your best friend. Mother wasn't quite sure what Wendy had meant and worried for days whether her head was being filled with ideas from all the books she was reading. She decided to take it upon herself to find Wendy a respectable man before that strong headed and hearted girl did anything too foolish. Mrs Darling did feel for her daughter, she wished that they lived in a world where they could follow their heart, but she couldn't have Wendy out on the street. That's when she found Mr. Thomas, a very respected gentleman, a widow who was the master of a farm who was known for his kindness towards his workers and very pleasant company to keep when he occasionally brought his business to London, Mrs Darling's friend's husband knew him quite well and was more than happy to help arrange for Wendy to stay at his land in the North of England for a week so that they could arrange a marriage, everything proper and chaperoned of course!

Wendy agreed to go, she couldn't say no after how happy her mother looked. Wendy was twenty years old now and felt a complete burden to her parents, there was nothing left in London for her now, nothing but that lovely little window.

Now that she was a temporary guest at Mr. Thomas' manor, she was enjoying herself. The fresh air was nothing like the industrial air of London and it was so beautiful and peaceful, she hadn't seen Mr. Thomas yet because she had rested early the night before after arriving rather late and having travelled all day, so she was to dine with him tonight. Her future husband. The thought scared her. But for now, being the adventurer that she was, she would take off onto the land to have a lovely day just to herself.


End file.
